Special packaging of cooked pancakes



March 19, 1940. A. ROART 2,194,153-

SPECIAL PACKAGING OF COOKED PANCAKES Filed NOV. 19, 1938 gwoon/vrom Patented Mar. 19, .1940

UNITED STATES SPECIAL PACKAGING or cooxnn rANcAxEs Alphonse Roart.

Philadelphia, Pa.

Application November 1s, 193s, sei-m No. 241,474

Y8 Claims.

This invention relates to the special packaging of cooked pancakes. The invention' includes the method of packaging as well as the package itself. The invention concerns itself with the commercial distribution of cooked pancakes which will keep indefinitely in the package, the principal object being to provide a package consisting of cooked pancakes in rolled or folded units, closely packed in a container.

Another object of the invention is' the provision of a package of compactly rolled or folded cooked pancakes as described, in which the cross section of the unit is the same from end to end whereby an even compactness is assured throughout the extent of the unit and a set shape acquired by the unit from end to end, which would not result if the pancakes were packaged in rolled or folded circular form.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a cooked pancake in compactly rolled or folded elongated form, for packaging, whereby the rigidity of the unit is increased, facilitating its insertion into the jar or other container and its removal therefrom, without breaking.

. A further object of the invention is the method of packaging the cooked pancakes which in its more specific embodiment includes various ways of folding, rolling, shaping the pancakes, and effecting their' insertion in compact manner in the container.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following description of a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawing throughout the several figures of .which the same characters of reference have been employed to designate identical parts:

Figure 1 is a vertical diametrical section through a .glass jar of cooked pancakes exemplified in the principles of the present invention;

, Fig. 2 is a cross section taken along the line 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figures 3, 4 and 5 are perspective views showing the cooked pancake in the fiat; Figure 3 being the pancake in its natural circular shape; Figure 4 being the same pancake with two of the opposite sides cut to form parallel rectilinear edges, and Figure 5 showing the pancake cut in the form of a rectangle;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the cooked pancake shown in Figure 3 rolled for packaging;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the cooked pancake shown in Figure 5 folded upon itself and then partially rolled;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the cooked pancake shown inFigure 4 in rolled form; and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary view partly in vertical section showing the method of inserting the final cooked rolled pancake unit into the container by means of a mandrel.

Before referring in detail to the description of the several figures, it may be stated that the obvious manner of packing canned cooked pancakes would be to place a stack of pancakes in .flat circular form in a Wide cylindrical container. Such a method is impractical from the commercial standpoint for it is dimcult to prevent pancakes in the flat from breaking up when inserted in the can. Furthermore, it is practically impossible for pancakes in the cooked form to fit closely to the sides of the container. a certain looseness being thus unavoidable which causes breakage of the pancakes through shocks or jolts which the can encounters in the course of shipping and handling and what is of considerably greater consequence, it is practically impossible for the canned cooked pancakes to be removed from the can and reheated for serving without them suffering disintegration.

Adverting now to the figures of the drawing, the numeral l represents the glass jar which contains a compactly arranged group or bundle of rolled cooked pancake units 2.

The pancakes may be prepared by any desired recipe and cooked in the customary manner so as to assume the circular form exemplified by the pancake 3 in Figure 3. 'I'his may be termed the natural form of the pancake. This pancake form has this disadvantage that when rolled as shown in Figure 6, the end portions taper so that when the rolled units are placed in the jar they will not be in compact engagement at the ends and consequently the density of the end portions will be impaired and mutual support of the end portions will be absent, making the end portions liable to breakage in the container. The preferred manner of shaping the pancakes for packaging is to cut off the two opposite edge portions forming the parallel rectilinear edges 4 and 5 as shown in Figure 4. These edges form the top and bottom of the pancake unit when the cooked pancake is rolled, the unit thus being of uniform thickness throughout its entire length and subject to uniform pressure from end to end when compactly arranged with its fellows in the container.

Another, and perhaps the preferred form is that shown in Figure 5 in which the pancake 6 is cut rectangularly. Various modes of rolling or .folding thecooked pancakes are within the purview of the invention. Figure 7 showing that a pancake of the rectangular form is iirst folded upon itself and then rolled. beginning with the line of fold 1. The line of fold is rounded and functions as a mechanical axis to facilitate the rolling of the pancake. In Figure 8. the pancake I of Figure 4 is shown folded into a close helix beginning with one of the rotund edges I.

The rolling of the cooked pancakes converts the original fiat pancake which is a exible member of delicate texture into a substantially rigid stick. The rolled or folded pancake units 2 are inserted in the container side by side as indicated in Figure 9 until all but one have been put in place. The last rolled cooked pancake 2 to be inserted. is placed upon a mandrel which may consist of a slender rod or pin l having a handle il of relatively large diameter forming with the pin a shoulder i2 which functions as an abutment bearing against the end of the pancake unit. The pin is thrust through the center of the pancake unit between the laminations.

. The person engaged in illling the container then sticks her finger into the space between the pancake units already in the container compressing the mass of the adjacent pancake units and creating a space large enough to receive the unit which is on the mandrel. 'I'his final unit is then deftly inserted. the mandrel withdrawn, and the packing of the jar is complete. Means other than the finger may be employed in creating the space for receiving the iinal pancake unit and in general the units are of suilicient rigidity so as not to necessitate the employment of the mandrel for inserting the inal unit.

When iirst placed in the container, there is a certain tendency of the pancaks units to unroll, which tendency is thwarted through the compactness of their relationship resulting in a mutual resilient pressure between the units themselves and 4between the units and side wall of the container. This pressure is substantially uniform from end to end of the rolled unit by virtue of the fact that the tapered ends have been cut oif. This pressure maintains the units irmly and immovably in place in the container and prevents their being broken or otherwise disintegrated through shocks and jarring. This mutual pressure gradually imparts a set shape to the cooked rolled or folded pancake unitsso that when removed from the container by the consumer they maintain their rigid rolled form through the subsequent reheating which is necessary to prepare them for the table coming to the table in their rolled or folded form. The rigidity inherent in the rolled form of the cooked pancake prevents its breading up when reheated which would inevitably occur were it attempted to remove and reprepare cooked pancakes in flat form from a container.

The manner in which the cooked rolled or folded pancakes are preserved in the container are unimportant to the present invention. They may be packed airtight or in an atmosphere of inert gas, in a syrup or in a sauce or liquor with alcoholic content which will eifect their preservation.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to be a preferred and practical embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the specific details of theform of the rolled or folded cooked pancake unitsand of the method of packaging the same are by way of example and not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Package of cooked pancakes comprising a container, and a plurality of elongated pancake units arranged in compact mutually parallel relationship therein, each unit comprising a compactly rolled pancake.

2. Package of cooked pancakes comprising a container and a plurality of elongated pancake units arranged in compact mutually parallel relationship therein. each unit comprising a compactly rolled pancake, said units being of substantially even thickness from end to end, and having a set shape acquired as the result of the mutual compactness with which they are packed.

3. Package of cooked pancakes comprising a container and a plurality of elongated compactly rolled pancake units arranged in compact mutually parallel relationship within said container. the ends of said unit being cut in planes perpendicular to the length dimension of said unit.

4. Package of cooked pancakes comprising a cylindrical container and a plurality of pancake units arranged in a compact substantially cylindrical bundle in said container, each unit comprising a compactly rolled pancake, and being of substantially even thickness throughout having a set shape from end to end acquired as the result of the compactness with which said units are packed in said container.

5. Method of packaging cooked pancakes comprising compactly rolling a cooked pancake into a stick thereby enhancing its rigidity, and inserting a plurality of said rolled pancakes compactly in parallel relation in a container.

6. Method of packaging cooked pancakes comprising cutting opposite edges of the pancakes rectilinear and parallel, rolling said pancakes compactly to form a substantially rigid stick, the rolling being in a direction to make the cut edges of the pancakes come at the ends of the rolled units, and inserting said rolled units in compact side by side relationship within a container.

7. Package of cooked pancakes comprising a container, and a plurality of elongated pancake units arranged in compact mutually parallel relationship therein in a liquid sauce, each unit comprising a compactly rolled pancake.

8. Package of cooked pancakes comprising a container and a plurality of elongated compactly rolled pancake units arranged in compact mutually parallel relationship within said container in a liquid sauce, the ends of said unit terminating in planes perpendicular to the length dimension of said unit.

ALPHONSE ROART. 

